Heated fat, vitamin E and vascular eicosanoids

A semisynthetic diet containing adequate amounts of vitamin E and 10% (w/w) of a mixture of polyunsaturated oils subjected to heating and characterized by elevated indexes of thermal alteration (polar component, dimer triglyceride, altered triglyceride contents and reduced alpha-tocopherol levels) was fed to growing male rats for a period of eight weeks. It resulted in a selective alteration of the production of vascular eicosanoids (elevation of platelet thromboxane formation and decrease of vascular prostacyclin release) compared to the values found in rats fed a diet containing a fresh mixture of polyunsaturated oils. Major nutritional parameters, plasma lipids and the fatty acid profiles of plasma, liver and heart lipids were not different in the two groups of animals. Supplementation of an excess vitamin E (300 mg/kg) to the diet containing heated fat neutralized the adverse effects of heated fat on vascular eicosanoid production.